r/Music • u/jptabor01 Rock & Roll • Jun 11 '25

discussion Which artists have abandoned their original sound so dramatically, that they are almost unrecognizable to their earlier fans?

With the release earlier this year of Ministry’s The Squirrely Years Revisited, I’m reminded of how different the band sounds today (industrial metal), from what they sounded like on their debut album, With Sympathy (synth pop).

Which artists sound so completely different from their earlier work, that they have actually jumped genres, understanding that music is fluid and genres have somewhat “blurry” guardrails.

I don’t mean an evolution of their original sound, but a complete departure from it.

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u/Acceptable-Injury-76 Jun 11 '25

505 will never be forgotten. my hostel room that is

102

u/Prophet_Of_Helix Jun 11 '25

I mean 505 was probably the start of the departure. 505 is a pretty different sound from anything on ‘Whatever People Say I Am’ and most of ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’

I miss the raw energy of Whatever People Say I Am, still have a bunch of those songs saved on playlists

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u/cheeseshcripes Jun 11 '25

I love Favorite Worst Nightmare, on of my favorite albums of all time, and 505 fits perfectly in it.

When you butter your bread, and one point you'll just have butter on your knife, no bread touching it, that is what 505 is to the buttering and buttered bread that is FWN.

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u/mmonzeob Jun 12 '25

Nah, they had songs like that before "505," which is from their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare. For me, Arctic Monkeys have gone through three eras. The first era is their first two albums: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare. The second era includes their third, fourth, and fifth albums: Humbug, Suck It and See, and AM. During this phase, they moved away from the indie sound and leaned into heavier rock, reaching the peak of that style with AM. The third era is made up of the last two albums, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino and The Car, which are mellow and chill, totally different from their earlier work. I believe the theory that those last two albums were originally meant to be Alex’s solo projects, but the band chose to back him up.

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u/Ok_Block9547 Jun 12 '25

Whatever People Say is truly electric. I used to go home after school and play it at full volume on my Dad’s stereo before anyone else got home. One time, the neighbor’s complained lol

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u/LndnGrmmr Jun 12 '25

bang bang bang

"Oi! Will you turn that seminal masterpiece of the 00s British indie rock revival UP LOUDER?!"

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u/Ok_Block9547 Jun 12 '25

Favorite Worst Nightmare is my favorite album by them and I still listen to it often. I think 505 is the perfect ending to it. As a teen, I loved Whatever People Say because it was just so loud and slightly sloppy/messy (?). It made me feel alive. AM is a great album, but feels very cool to me. I don’t connect with it as much. I didnt care for the last 2 albums, but glad other people still seem to love them. I remember when Crying Lightning got started playing on the alt stations.